Dear Readers, We have just published the January 2015 edition of the ETUC Newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

This report is composed of four parts: the first part deals with the labour market situation of young people with a special focus on NEETs (young people not in education, employment or training). The second part presents the main features of the Youth Guarantee project as it has been developed at the European level. The third part presents the results of the survey conducted among ETUC affiliates in order to understand whether and how trade unions were involved in the development of the YG schemes at the national level.

The European sovereign debt crisis is having profound consequences for the labour law and industrial relations systems of the debt-affected member states and for the role of social policy at EU level. Driven by the need to initiate a process of ‘internal devaluation’ so as to restore the competitiveness of the national economies, public deficit reduction measures have been coupled with in-depth structural labour market reforms in a number of EU Member States, including Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

The new public procurement Directive introduces some positive developments from the trade union perspective – among them a binding social clause. This gives unions a stronger platform for pressing key demands such as respect for collective bargaining agreements, social criteria and greater transparency. We therefore look at the results with some satisfaction. However, much will depend on the way the Directive is transposed into national legislation.

Joint opinion article by Bernadette Ségol, ETUC General Secretary, and Wendel Trio, Director of the Climate Action Network Europe (CAN Europe) published on Euractiv.com   According to Eurobarometer, nine out of ten consider climate change a serious or very serious problem. Meanwhile conflicts in the Ukraine and the Middle East show the fragility of our current energy system. European governments urgently need to find sustainable alternatives. 

European Works Councils: their role in health & safety and anticipation of change  

Dear Readers, We have just published the Special Edition "European Elections" of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

Copies of today’s European Voice - the leading EU affairs weekly -  delivered to the European Commissioners and Director Generals, European Council, MEPs offices and member state Perm Reps, came with an extra four pages wrapped around the cover featuring last week’s Euro demonstration and the ETUC's 'New Path for Europe' campaign. See the ETUC ‘wrap’ around the European Voice

Dear Readers, We have just published the Special Edition "A New Path For Europe" of the ETUC newsletter. To read the document, please click here. Enjoy!

Best practices and trade union contributions

Brussels, 2014

Brussels, 2013

The Participation and Rights Letter « PaRL » is an ETUC-Infopoint tool for distributing news related to Worker Information, Consultation and Participation rights in Europe. In collaboration with all European Trade Union Federations and the European Trade Union Institute, PaRL provides updates on relevant EU policy and legislation on worker involvement. PaRL also represents a platform for the exchange of experiences and good practices, news on company developments, project results, publications, and events.

We are currently facing a quadruple crisis – four major problems we are facing are: the financial crisis, the ecological crisis, increasing inequality and a loss of trust in the institutions of governance.

Brussels, 09 October 2013

Brussels, 2013

Brussels, 2013 The brochure is available in Spanish, Italian and French.

Bruxelles, 2013